Sameh Hassan Shoukry (; born 20 October 1952) is an Egyptian diplomat who served as the

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

from 2014 to 2024. Previously, Shoukry served as the Ambassador of Egypt to the United States from 2008 to 2012.

Career

From 1976 until 1978, Sameh Shoukry worked as Attaché in the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. Between 1978 and 1982, he was the Third Secretary at the Embassy of Egypt in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In 1982, Shoukry became the Second Secretary of the Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister and

. From 1984 until 1988, he served as First Secretary of the Embassy of Egypt in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Between 1988 and 1990, he was counselor of the Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. From 1990 until 1994, Shoukry worked as counselor of the Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. In 1994, he was director of the United States and Canada Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cairo. Shoukry was a member of the Delegation of Egypt to the 1995

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperatio ...

(NPT) Review Conference. Between 1995 and 1999, he served as Secretary for Information and follow-up to the President of Egypt,

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011 and the 41st Prime Minister of Egypt, prime minister from 1981 to ...

. In 2000, he was Head of Delegation for the Negotiations on the International Treaty to Combat Transnational Organized Crime in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. From 2001 until 2002, he worked as chairman of the

Group of 77 The Group of 77 (G77) at the United Nations (UN) is a coalition of developing country, developing countries, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. T ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

to the

International Organizations An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own leg ...

in Vienna. Between 1999 and 2003, Shoukry served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Egypt to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. In 2003, he became Assistant Foreign Minister and Chief of Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt. In 2004, he became Chief of Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt. Between 2005 and 2008, Shoukry was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Egypt to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and other International Organizations in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. From 2008 until 2012, he served as Ambassador of Egypt to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Shoukry was the Sherpa to the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit and the 2014 Hague Nuclear Security Summit. From 17 June 2014 to 3 July 2024, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt. In November 2022, he presided over the

United Nations Climate Change Conference The United Nations Climate Change Conferences are yearly conferences held in the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They serve as the formal meeting of the UNFCCC parties – the conference of the par ...

Personal life

He is married to Suzy Shoukry, and has two sons. He obtained a law degree from

Ain Shams University Ain Shams University () is a public university located in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 1950, the university provides education at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels. History Ain Shams University was founded in July 1950, the third ...

in 1975. A career diplomat, he had ostensibly retired prior to being appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2014. He speaks

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, English and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

References

1952 births Living people Ain Shams University alumni Ambassadors of Egypt to Austria Ambassadors of Egypt to the United States Ministers of foreign affairs of Egypt People from Cairo Politicians from Cairo Permanent representatives of Egypt to the United Nations Diplomats from Cairo 21st-century Egyptian diplomats 20th-century Egyptian diplomats 20th-century Egyptian politicians 21st-century Egyptian politicians {{Egypt-politician-stub